Thursday, 10 March 2016

Make, Bake, Sew, Grow

{ Make }

I'm making a concerted effort to read more, and during the day or in the evenings, rather than for ten minutes before falling asleep in bed at night. What happened to the English graduate bookworm who devoured book after book, who read adventuoursly and widely, who spent her twenties working in a book shop, reading and recommending and knowing exactly what was coming by which author...oh yes, that's right. She had children.

Recent purchases include Sense and Sensibility, bought purely for the beauty of the cover. (I do have a paperback copy somewhere but it's covered in my own earnest undergraduate scribbles and underlinings which annoy me), The Wonderful Weekend Book (thank you Mimi for the suggestion) and Lost in Translation, a lovely, funny little coffee table book about words that do not have a direct translation into English. A particular favourite of mine is the German "kummerspeck", literally "grief bacon", ie the excess flab gained from emotional overeating. I've gained and lost a fair amount of kummerspeck in my time I reckon.

I've begun re-reading Sense and Sensibility and am loving it. I forgot how readable Austen is, and how funny.

I don't know about you but I always match my cake to my books. It's how I retain my figure.

We are failing to make any kind of decision about ceiling lights in the hall and continue to embrace bare bulb chic. It annoys me that we decorated the hall last autumn and it's still not finished. Particular hatred is always aimed at that stupid, pewter, slightly wonky single plug socket you see in the wallpaper. I would like it to be changed to a white one, and level at that. John says it will "be a bugger" to do. It remains unchanged.

{ Bake }

Lighter, greener eating continues to go well and I am really enjoying it. This green smoothie of banana, pineapple and kale was delicious. I've worked out that kale is nice in smoothies is you use a really small amount and then blitz the hell out of it.

I recently saw a recipe in The Guardian magazine for Prawn Bun Cha, little spicy Thai flavoured prawn balls served with rice noodles and salad.

As a rule, if a recipe contains things like ginger, lemongrass and chilli, I will want to eat it, and eat a lot of it.

This did not disappoint. It was totally delicious. The only thing I would say is it's more of a salad than a dinner and I had a hard time convincing John that it was, in fact, a Proper Dinner. I'll definitely be making it again but in the summer, perhaps to be eaten outside with a cold beer...(Hayfever and insects do not feature in my fantasy.)

And although I am not eating cake, I was big enough to make a batch of chocolate covered flapjacks for everyone else. These are always satisfying baking as they take about five minute to make and they are very popular.

{ Sew }

It's all about the finish here, as two projects I started last summer finally reach completion.

My Cedar River Blanket is so nearly finished. I'm currently darning in the ends then it's one quick border, possibly a blocking, and done!

And, (I'm on fire here), my Midsummer Sprigs cross stitch sampler is ready to be ironed and sent to the framers. Yay! I have a renewed passion for cross stitch at the moment and have all sorts of plans and ideas for things I want to make this year.

{ Grow }

Out there, in the wasteland, some stuff that I planted last autumn is coming up! I'd kind of forgotten about it. The grass needs cutting so badly, the borders need tidying, the earth all needs weeding and turning over. But, if you look carefully, you can see little pops of yellow and purple here and there.

I feel a gardening day coming on, perhaps in the Easter holidays.

I have such a long list of things I want to do around the house this Easter. Nothing exciting, just everyday things; sorting, cleaning, tidying, washing, clearing out, chucking out. It's going to feel good.

I've been making an effort to read more over the last few years and I'm on fire at the moment, on my 21st and 22nd books of the year at the moment and with my next reads all planned out for March and April!! I love reading classics and have developed a one a month habit recently! I don't match snacks to my books but I do have a selection of bookmarks and I choose them for each book according to cover colour!

I'm currently fighing a battle with the Kummerspeck - I like the sound of that book, another one to add to the list! The prawn recipe sounds good (for my Dave, not for me being a fussy veggie!) and I love your summer cross stitch sampler!

Your copy of Sense and sensibility is beautiful, I'm not at all envious (she lies badly). I love to see the daffs coming out it is a nice reminder that better weather and more outside time is on the way.

The other night, I spent a good hour with one browser tab open to Amazon and another open to the library's website, searching for interesting new books and requesting them (if applicable) from the library. Three of them have already come in, and I hope to pick them up tomorrow. I would enjoy that prawn recipe too; I'll think of you as I eat it in my backyard this summer, stopping to wipe the blowing dust out of my eyes.

Hi Gillian! I absolutely love your new copy of "Sense and Sensibility" (and the matching cakes ;)). My latest reading findings include Kristina Ohlsson (scandinavian crime stories, I patricularly liked the last one) and a book I'm reading at the moment (so far it's good) and also scandinavian - "My Grandmother Sends Her Regards and Apologises". Wishing you more time to read!

Gillian, I LOVE the picture of your prettily covered "Sense & Sensibility" with matching macarons!! I thought I was the only one to carefully choose what to eat with a certain book, newspaper or film :-)Like you, I'd hate that socket in the wallpaper. It does spoil the overall effect of the great look of that part of your house.

My Easter holiday (Good Friday and Easter Monday) will be most likely be taken up by a translation task I am waiting for. The customer has already announced that I won't have as much time for it as we originally thought. Ah well, it's work I really enjoy, and I'll just take some other time off work - hopefully when the weather is nice and warm :-)

Such an interesting post. I love that term 'grief bacon' and your new Jane Austen and coordinating cakes! I have kale in smoothies too - it feels very virtuous doesn't it? Your blanket and cross stitch are wonderful and why on Earth have I never thought to put chocolate on flapjacks? My family thank you in advance! xx

I love how you have bare light bulbs too. My kitchen has bare light bulbs due to a 'suitable lighting' argument no tiles either for the same reason. I've looked at the recipe link & I adore both recipes. xx

I still don't read as much as I did when younger. You know that you can get pendants that now just look like a light globe, so you can say that you are just being 'fashionable'.(giggle) Your crochet and cross stitch look lovely and the garden is proclaiming that Spring is just round the corner. Have a good weekend and take care.

Colour-coordinated macarons – I like your style. And that book cover is perfect. We still have a couple of bare light bulbs, three and a half years after moving here... The easter holidays aren't far off, spring is galloping in. Hurrah. Sam x

Sense and sensibility is one of my absolute favourite. I have been listening to an audio version while crafting just recently. Love the sound of your prawn dish. Those are the flavours I like too! Have a good weekend and enjoy your books. B x

I've been wanting to make the Cedar River Blanket for a while now, but keep chickening out as the colours are so different from anything in my house! It looks gorgeous, will have to think again. I'm sure you have probably thought of this already, but could you stand something in front of the socket in the short term, like a slimline console table with a basket underneath, or a tall bushy plant? We live in rented military accommodation so short term solutions are a way of life for me! Love these posts.

I love these posts :-) The cover on your sense and Sensibility is gorgeous :-) I'm glad I'm not the only one with unfinished diy. This morning I was listing off to Hubby all the jobs he could finish tomorrow!! Poor Hubs, but tomorrow is as a good a day as any ;-)

Kummerspeck, I love that word. I do miss talking German for that very reason, words like it. I often struggle to find a translation for what is in my head and fail. The prawnballs look very yummy, must browse my recipe books for something similar. Have a restful weekend. x

Your books look lovely as does that chocolate flapjack.....yummy.I've just started reading again although mainly on train journeys & in waiting rooms. I'm currently enjoying 'We are all made of Stars' by Rowan Coleman. I also have bare bulbs on my upstairs landing! Glad I'm not the only one. Quite on trend though at the moment haha. The shades were originally removed when I had the ceiling re-plastered but that was so long ago. I'm currently redecorating so they might get replaced sometime soon....maybe. I did venture out into the garden today as it was so sunny. Currently sitting on the couch with a hot water bottle on my back as I've overdone it with the weeding & tidying up. My grass is overgrown too as my lawnmower gave up the ghost last year. Just hoping it will come on special offer at Easter. Have a lovely weekend.

Rather a lot of grief bacon here I'm afraid. It's nice to have a word for it. The hall is looking lovely. Maybe there's a Youtube video that would help John with the plug socket..? Men (and boys) do always need a Proper Dinner don't they. Anything less than hearty and substantial is very much viewed as a first course. I threw some flapjacks together earlier for the cake-eating people as well. Wishing you a very good weekend. CJ xx

Reading has dropped off my agenda and I really must get back into it. I have a new book sitting by my bed for which not a single page has been turned. I had to laugh when reading your post, we too have wonky plug sockets that are crying out to be changed since we decorated our lounge and dining room. Your cakes and your cooking look very yummy!

I am gunning for a sort out in Easter, my aunt and uncle stayed in Feb half term for the whole week which was lovely but I didn't do any sorting. I run pretty close to the wire between holidays always knowing I can 'catch up' and replace everything in the holidays so I am a 'sort' behind. Your projects are looking great. I love cross stitch on black, so classy. Looking forward to your finale photos. Love Jo x

Lovely post, as always. We managed to maintain the lightbulb chic for seven years in our dining room! It took about five minutes to put up a new shade three years after buying it! Have you seen the months of the year sew a long cross stitch sampler on The Snowflower Diaries blog? Don't know if it's your thing, but I think the designs are lovely, and are just the sort of thing to start and then keep in a carrier bag for ages! I am very impressed when I see people's finished items!! Penny Lx

Such a special book (Elspeth's "The Wonderful Weekend Book"). One of the very first "slow living" books. It's so very sad that she passed. I never knew her but was so devastated when I heard. Elspeth's was the first blog I ever read...before blogs were really even a thing! Kelly from Australia

Haha, I totally get the bookworm having children situation. I look at my list of books (and the tens of thousands of pages) I'd read prechildren and think, 'wow I had a lot of extra time on my hands' :)

Love reading your blog - reminds me of home! So here in the USA, they either paint or wallpaper socket covers and light switch plates to blend in with the background wall. Such a simple but brilliant idea! Sockets are called 'outlets'. Have a search on the web and lots of tutorials pop up! Trend here is for big bare light bulbs or 'globes' in local speak!

Oh I might need to buy the book Lost in Translation! Michelle (my best friend and blog buddy) both speak English (her mother tongue) and German (my mother tongue) and we have great fun finding works which should be introduced into the other's language! :) I think Michelle's favorite German word is Zahnfleisch (Tooth Meat) which means gum. :P

Those are lovely new books, the cover of the Jane Austen one is so pretty. I'm glad to know I'm not the only one whose reading habits changed after they'd had children :-) Love your finished projects. The crocheted throw is gorgeous. X

I do so enjoy these posts. An interesting structure, which reflects many of my own free-time interests. And yes, having children does change everything doesn't it. And yet to carries on changing as they grow up and become increasingly 'independent' (though I'm pleased to say that my experience of their independence as young adults is that it increasingly moves towards us relying and enjoying on each other, which is lovely).A long-winded way of saying 'thank you'.

Its all looking totally awesome. I love your freshly decorated hallway with the bright flowered wallpaper. I can't wait to start decorating our place. Just waiting to get the new kitchen done, its taking forever just to get quotes in. Well done with your reading, I have a pile of books sitting on my bedside table unread that have been there since july. I should really dust them off and get reading.

Like many others I love reading these posts. Seeing your finished Midsummer Sprigs reminds me that the late afternoons are now light enough so I should download the pattern and start stitching. I've just bought a couple of new glass ceiling lights from Laura Ashley for our hall. For the last 25 years we have had cream linen coolie shades so it was time for a re-fresh. I especially like the clear LED filament bulbs that you can buy nowadays that I think look good with a clear glass shade. Your reading pile looks great. I love re-reading Jane Austen and she still makes me laugh out loud. I first read S&S when I was 12 years old and my mum gave me the Penguin paperback to start reading on a 5-hour train journey made all by myself from Paddington to Plymouth. I was met by my aunt and 17-year-old cousin Jane. I loved that holiday, it was the summer of 1973 and I felt so grown-up.

I'm really looking forward to your finished blanket. It looks lovely already, despite all the threads hanging lose!I'm an avid reader myself. I always wanted to work in a bookstore but it somehow never happened for me. I devour one book after the other butI know, that once we have children (it will take another year or two but we definitely want some!) my reading times will be drastically limited. So I really need to enjoy it while I can!